Why folks at the American Academy of Pediatrics say the “Best Toy for your Kid may be the Box”
Designers, architects and scholars know that design thinking and creativity lead to empathy, imagination, innovation and empowerment. And pediatricians agree.
If you do a Google search for “coding toys for toddlers” you will find no less than 30 different products. They are designed to teach children as young as 3 the fundamentals of logic and coding. There are 100s of apps and digital programs designed to gamify early learning. They are highly engaging and teach anything from math and science to reading and humanities. An Amazon search for “educational toys for preschoolers” will reveal over 10,000 options. So why, with all of these products available at our fingertips, does the author of the 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics Report on buying toys for children suggest that the best gift may actually be the box?
While the pediatrician in me craves evidence-based data, as a mother, I reflect on my own children’s early learning experiences. For starters, my children almost never watched TV or played games on the computer. Instead, they spent countless hours busy converting our family room into a giant Rube Goldberg-style obstacle coarse; the sole objective of which was to thwart any efforts by our cats to escape the room.
The sofa and cushions turned into a dead-end tunnel. Cardboard boxes became hidden traps with closable doors (and a food tray to entice the unsuspecting felines). Savvy as cats are, somehow my young engineers persisted and learned new tricks, and sometimes, the humans actually outsmarted the cats.
As they advanced in age, my kids taught themselves the basics of geometry, structural engineering, and 3D spatial concepts through open-ended creative play. They created mazes with bridges, tunnels and rotating doors for their then-popular hex bugs. Materials for their projects included cardboard, straws, plastic containers, pipe cleaners, tape, and rubber bands. Projects typically began with “dumpster diving” in the recycling bin.
Rather than learning about forces on a virtual reality app, my children learned physics by inventing the first cat/harness dental extractor.
The story behind Cain’s Arcade is the perfect example of the magic that happens when you allow children to use their own creativity and available resources to innovate. Kids don’t need the latest $200 electronic toy to teach them logic, engineering, or geometry. They don’t need rules with answers that tell them when they are right and wrong. Trial and error will teach children the laws of physics.
Over the years, educators from around the world have used the example of Caine’s Arcade to teach STEM/STEAM, entrepreneurship, creative writing, social media, and more. Imagination.org is a non-profit that, inspired by Cain’s Arcade, has taken the concept of cardboard construction to true global levels with their annual Cardboard Challenge.
Iman Rasti, Ph.D. and founder of at OMNIS Creative Teaching Pathways runs workshops for educators, that focus on the importance of creative thinking skills, experiential modes of learning and the holistic approach to education. He notes that, “a simple cardboard box, used creativly by parents and teachers alike, embodies opportunities to cultivate these principles.”
For those of you who still believe that play is all fun and games, I implore you to put on your Darwinian goggles and look at the world outside the window. Thousands of years of natural selection and adaptation across the broad range of diverse of species tells us that juvenile play is anything but extracurricular. Play hones gross-motor and fine-motor skills, teaches problem-solving skills, encourages communication, socialization, and collaboration.
Years after building their forts, kingdoms, and dungeons — and inventing kitty dental extractors — Ayana and Ethan went on to develop a cardboard-based construction set that now inspires kids across the globe to think outside the box. Their kits have been so well received in STEM and STEAM programs, the next project is to create an open platform where engineers, designers, architects, and environmentalists can share their stories and visions with children by challenging children to solve today’s problems through good design. Their growing list of contributors will offer design prompts that will cover a diverse range of fields, engaging children to rethink ideas like community, the environment, modern society, and social justice.
What can happen when you replace rules, shiny plastic toys, and technology-based products with the simple, ubiquitous cardboard box? You foster creativity, innovation, collaboration, and the fortitude to accept failures as a mere step along the pathway to success. No one knows this better than kids like Cain Monroy and Ayana and Ethan Klein, who created a global community out of little cardboard and a lot of imagination.
What can you make with a cardboard box?
Share your photos in the comments or with Ayana and Ethan on their instagram #billionboxproject
Learn more about Ayana and Ethan
- On their kickstarter video they share their story and their mission. See how the two teens manufacture their kits and see their invention in use in the classroom.
- Praise from the community. Their architecture kits won the McGraw Hill award for Best Educational Product 2018 at the Henry Ford STEMIE Coalition Event and The CTNEXT entrepreneur grant. Ayana was a Women of Innovation Finalist and Ethan was a semi-finalist at the New School’s New Path Competition
Learn more about play-based learning and cardboard construction
- Boston Globe Article abut the AAP recomendations on toys.
- Room 241 — Concordia University’s College of Education blog, with posts from a diverse community of passionate people who believe education can change lives.
- Shigeru Ban, Architect of Sublime Cardboard buildings uses cardboard tubes, beer crates, containers and cloth for emergency housing on a global level https://qz.com/431520/shigeru-ban-architect-of-sublime-cardboard-buildings-creates-a-permanent-legacy/
- Greg Satell on kids, coding and communication skills https://medium.com/s/story/these-are-the-skills-your-kids-will-need-for-the-future-hint-its-not-coding-9b5d47f372f1
- Sir Ken Robinson — are schools killing creativity https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
